Folding device



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FOLDING DEVICE Original Filed Feb, 10. 1961 16 Sheets-Sheet 15 mNWO wwwD. A. FREEMAN FOLDING DEVICE Aug. 30, 1966 original` Filed Feb. 1o. 1961ezmmz, ,ymfadd United States Patent O 3,269,619 FOLDING DEVICE David A.Freeman, Evanston, Ill., assignor to Kleindienst and Co.,Maschinenfabrik, Augsburg, Germany, a cornpany of Germany Originalapplication Feb. 10, 1961, Ser. No. 88,445, now Patent No. 3,231,157,dated Jan. 25, 1966. Divided and this application Apr. 2, 1964, Ser. No.356,774

7 Claims. (Cl. 223-37) This application is a division of my copendingapplication for Folding Device and Method, liled February 10, 1961,under Serial No. 88,445, which issued as Patent No. 3,231,157 on January25, 1966.

The present invention relates to a device and method for foldingflexible articles such as articles of fabric or plastic, etc. Moreparticularly, the present invention is concerned with automaticallyfolding such articles.

There is described hereinbelow an illustrative embodiment of theinvention in connection with folding a garment such as a shirt, but itshould be appreciated that the principles of this invention have generalfolding utility and applicability land that there is no intention tolimit the invention to the particular embodiment. Further, it should tbeappreciated that all forms of flexible material may be folded inaccordance with the principles and method of this invention, and ondevices embodying the principles of this invention. Herein, the eX-pression fabric is intended to include all forms of such flexiblematerial, including flexible metallic material as well as fabric, bothwoven and non-woven, felted materials and plastic.

While the illustrative embodiment of this invention describedhereinbelow is described in connection with garment folding generally,and shirt folding in particular, it should be appreciated that this ismerely exemplary and that the term garment as well as the term shirt areintended to be generic to all articles foldable in accord-ance with thisinvention, and on devices embodying the same.

It is critical and essential to the garment manufacturing industry aswell as the laundry and dry cleaning industries, particularly withincreasing costs of doing business :and increasing labor costs, that thegarment folding operation be effected rapidly and eiliciently.Heretofore, folding operations were effected manually orsemi-automatically with folding assisting devices which required asubstantial amount of operator attention and labor. Moreover, garmentfolding is a tedious task resulting in operator fatigue after shortperiods of work. Since the folding operator normally is one member of afinishing team, fatigue on the part of this person often resulted inslowdown of the entire team.

In accordance with the present invention, folding can be effectedcompletely automatically with no more labor involved than merely placingthe flattened garment on the mechanism and then removing the foldedgarment. And, uniquely, the machine duplicates hand folding; that is, itperforms the same sequence of folding; to wit, sleeves, sides and thentail fold-up, considered most desirable by the trade. Of course, thissequence can be varied, if desired, by proper alteration of the camarrangement in the machine. In addition, embodiments of this inventionare operable to automatically fold such garments as short sleeve shirtswithout partial hand folding which was required by heretofore knownso-called automatic folding devices. To operate the machine,irrespective of the garment thereon, the operator need merely press abutton.

In shirt folding, for example, an embodiment of this invention iseffective to mold or shape the collar of the shirt and, successively,fold the sleeves across the 3,269,619 Patented August 30, 1966- lCC backof the shirt, fold the sides and shoulders inwardly over the back of theshirt, and then fold the tail portion upwardly over the back of theshirt, to form a neat and compact package of a fully folded shirt. Theillustrative embodiment of this invention, which is shown in thedrawings and described in detail hereinbelow, is effective toautomatically perform all of these functions.

The foregoing and numerous other advantages of the invention willreadily appear from the following description and from the accompanyingdrawings, in which each and every detail shown is included as a part ofthis specification, in which like reference numerals refer to likeparts, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the mechanism with portions of the coverparts thereof removed to better illustrate other portions thereof;

FIG'URE 2 is a plan view similar to FIGURE 1 but with many other partsof the mechanism removed for clarity;

FIGURE 3 is a schematic type diagram of the mechamsm;

FIGURE 4 is a head end view of the mechanism with cover parts thereofremoved for clarity;

FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the mechanism as viewedsubstantially along the line 5-5 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is Ia perspective view -of the collar back pressing andclamping mechanism for the collar forming operation when shirts orsimilarly shaped articles are folded on the mechanism;

FIGURE 7 is a transverse sectional view at the head end of themechanism, taken substantially along the line 7-7 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 8 is a diagrammatic, perspective view of a portion of the foldingarm operating mechanism;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmental, longitudinal, sectional view takensubstantially -along the line 9 9 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 10 is a fragmental sectional view taken substantially along theline 10-10 of FIGURE 2 and showing the foot pedal operating portion ofthe mechanism;

FIGURE 11 is a fragmental plan View of the tail clamping and sidefolding portion of the mechanism;

FIGURE 12 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along theline 12-12 of FIGURE 11;

FIGURE 13 is a fragmental, longitudinal, sectional View takensubstantially along the line 13-13 of FIG- URE ll;

FIGURE 14 is a fragmental sectional view taken substantially along theline 14-14 of FIGURE 13;

FIGURE 15 is a transverse sectional view of the operating drive for thetail clamp and side folding mechanism, taken substantially along theline 15--15 of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 16 is a fragmental, perspective, diagrammatic View of portions ofthe drive for the tail clamping and side folding portions of themechanism;

FIGURE 17 is a diagrammatic, perspective view of the tail fold-upmechanism and drive thereof;

FIGURE 18 is a diagrammatic, perspective view showing a shirt foldedabout the tail fold-up mechanism;

FIGURES 19a, 19b and 19o are diagrammatic illustrations of the foldingprocedure effected by the tail fold-up mechanism;

FIGURE 20 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially .along theline 20-20 of FIGURE 2 and showing operating portions of the tailfold-up mechanism and the drive therefor;

FIGURE 21 is a longitudinal sectional view of the tail fold-up drivetaken substantially along the line 21--21 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 22 is a view similar to FIGURE 21, but showing the arrangement ina moved position;

3 lFIGURE 23 is a longitudinal sectional view of the tail fold-upmechanism taken substantially along the line 23-23 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 24 is a vertical sectional view of the tail vfold-up mechanism,taken substantially along the line 24-24 of FIGURE 23;

FIGURE 25 is a fragmental illustration of a portion of the mechanismshown in FIGURE 23, but showing the same in a moved or changed position;

`FIGURE 26 is a fragmental sectional view of a portion of the mechanismshown in FIGURE 23 and viewed substantially along the line 26-26 ofFIGURE 23;

FIGURE 27 is a fragmental sectional view of the portion of the mechanismshown in FIGURE 23 and viewed substantially along the line 27-27 ofFIGURE 23; and

FIGURE 28 is a plan view similar to FIGURE 1 but showing an arrangementfor adjusting the mechanism to handle different Widths, weights,thicknesses and lengths of garments.

An illustrative embodiment of the present invention, and one which isparticularly useful for folding fabric garments, such as shirts, isshown substantially completely in FIGURE 1 and diagrammatically inFIGURE 3. The mechanism includes a supporting frame on which there ismounted a substantially horizontal table or table surface member havingan aperture 11 therein adjacent to the head end thereof to expose acollar molding mechanism indicated generally at 12.

Collar molding mechanism This collar molding mechanism 12 may have anydesired form or configuration but, generally, most desirably includes -aset of three collar contacting members 13 which are movable orcontractable and expandable into and out of the space beneath a yokeplate or canopy 14. Generally, the collar molding mechanism 12 iscontracted so that a buttoned shirt collar can be placed thereoverconveniently. Thereafter, the mold expands so that the neck bandcontracting members move apart to stretch the shirt collar, press andmold the same to a desirable shape, such as a heart shape.

The collar molding mechanism incorporated in this embodiment of theinvention is normally held in expanded condition as shown in greaterdetail in FIGURES 5 and 6. It is pneumatically contracted by a pistonand cylinder assembly 15 which is controlled by operation of a footpedal 16 mounted on one end of a lever 17, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 10.-When the foot pedal 16 is depressed, a three-way control valve 19 isoperated to supply air through conduit 21 from an air supply source (notshown) to a cylinder 15. When the pedal is released, the valves 18 and19 are operated to exhaust air from the system through the conduits and21 `to initiate a reverse cycle operation.

The cylinder 15 is mounted on the frame at 22 so that the piston rod 23moves forwardly toward the head end of the machine. As it moves, thepiston rod drives a connecting rod 24 against the force of a biasingspring 25 to operate a crank linkage 26 that contracts the co1- larcontacting members 13.

The connecting rod 24, at its end opposite to the piston rod 23, isconnected to a lblock 27 which is firmly mounted on a slide bar 28 ofthe collar contacting member operating linkage 26 and effectivelymounted for longitudinal movement only. Also rmly secured to the slidebar 28 is a pull lever 29 which slidably receives a pull rod 30therethrough. The pull rod 30 has a nut 31 on its outer end so that whenthe bracket 29 is moved forwardly a certain distance toward the head endof the mechanism, the pull rod 30 will likewise move therewith after thebracket contacts the nut.

The other end of the pull rod 30 is connected to a bracket 33 on which acollar back pressing plate 34 is mounted for pivotal movement toward andaway from the head end portion of the neck bank contacting members 13 soas to press the back of the shirt collar when the collar moldingmechanism is released. A spring 35 on the pull rod 30 and disposedbetween a collar 36 thereon and a portion 37 of the frame of themechanism biases the collar back pressing plate toward a collar backpressing position.

When it is desired to operate the shirt folding mechanism withouteffecting complete expansion of the collar molding mechanism, the springbiased movement of the collar contacting members of the mold may belimited by a locking linkage which includes a crank 38 pivotally mountedat its center 39 on a portion 40 of the rigid frame of the mechanism.One arm 41 of the crank 38 carries an operating handle 42 which extendsthrough the opening 11 in the table top 10, as shown in FIGURE 1. Theother yarm 43 of the crank 38 is connected to a sliding stop bar 44. Theconnection between the sliding bar or rod 44 and the crank 38 is pivotalwhile an intermediate portion of the slide bar 44 is carried in abracket 45 mounted on the frame member 37. The outer free end 46 of theslide bar 44 is disposed to project into the path of the operating block27 or be moved out of that path depending upon the manual positioning ofthe handle 42 on the crank 38.

When the crank 38 is moved in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE6, the end 46 of the stop bar 44 will be disposed in the path of theoperating block 27 so as to limit movement thereof by the force of thebiasing spring 25 when air pressure is removed from the cylinder 15.When the collar mold mechanism is operated for shirt removal, the handle42 is moved counterclockwise, as Viewed in FIGURES 1 and 6, by a spring47, and the end 46 will be moved out of the way of the operating block27, thereby permitting full expansion of the collar molding mechanism.

F oldng and return movement Approximately simultaneous with contractionof the collar mold, air is also supplied to cylinder 48 (seen in FIGURES5 and 9). The mechanism connected thereto may act to raise a pair ofinner folding arms 49 and 50 at the left and right sides of the machine,respectively, when viewed from the tail end of the machine if thefolding arms are not already in an up position by reason of the camwheel action, which is ydescribed below.

The piston rod 51 of piston 48 moves upwardly and carries upwardly withit the free end of -a lever 52. Since the other end of lever 52 is-pivotally connected to the frame at 53 and, since lever 54 is pivotallyconnected thereto at an intermediate position thereon, lever 54 alsomoves upwardly. A lifting crank S5 connected to the upper end of .lever54 is, therefore, pivoted counterclockwise. If the folding arms 49 and50 are not already in a raised position, crank 55 will act to lift them.

At this stage, the foot pedal is released and the collar of the shirt isgrasped by the collar mold. The mold may also act to press `and shapethe collar, as more thoroughly described in existing patents, such asUnited States Patent No. 2,942,763, issued June 28, 1960.

After the collar of the shirt has been grasped by the collar mold, theyautomatic operating button 56 is depressed. This causes the foldingmechanism to begin its automatic folding sequence.

Folding arms 49 `and 50 are first lowered to clamp the shoulder and backportion of the shirt against table 10 and to provide a folding patternedge for the next fold in the automatic folding sequence.Simultaneously, or in slight sequential order, the tail clampingmechanism closes by pivotal movement of tail arms or plates 61 and 62about a common transverse axis 63. Upon complete fold movement of tailclamping arms or plates 61 and 62 they are substantially superimposedover the side folding arms or plates 64 and 65 so as to clamp the tailend of the shirt.

At about the same time with the tail clamping movement, a pair` of outerfolding larms 57 and 58 at the left `and right sides of the machine,respectively, move successively about pivot :axes 59 and 60 and inwardlyto fold the shirt sleeves inwardly against the folding pattern edges ofarms 49 and 50 and over the back portion of the shirt.

The next step in the operation is a side folding movelment of the shirt.The `inner shoulder folding arm 49 land the superimposed tail clampingarms or plates 61 and 64 at the left side of the machine, with the tailof the shirt clamped therebetween are moved about pivot taxis 66 foryarm 49 and coaxially aligned pivot axes 67 and 68 for the tail clampingarms 61 :and 64. This folds the left side (as viewed from the tail endof the mechanism in FIGURE 1) of the shirt. The edge of a blade or plateon arm 57 and the inner edge of arm 61 act 'as the folding edges forthis side fold.

As soon as the arms 49, 61 and 64 have folded the 'left side andshoulder portion of the shirt over onto the back of the shirt, shoulderfolding arm 50 and superimposed tail clamping arms 62 and 65 pivot aboutpivot axis 69 for arm 50 and coaxially -aligned pivot axes 70 rand 71 tofold the right side and shoulder portion of the shirt onto the foldedleft side of the shirt. Arms 58 and 62 act -as the folding edges forthis side fold.

Next, the tail fold-up mechanism 72, including folding plate 73 andfolding arm 74, are moved inwardly of the machine from the right sidethereof toward the center with the arm 74 disposed above the shirt andthe blade 73 disposed therebelow. After the shirt is clamped betweenlarms 73 and 74, the tail clam-ping blades 61, 62, 64 and 65 arewithdrawn from the tail of the shirt by a longitudinal movement awayfrom the collar clamping end of the machine. As soon as the blades 61,62, 64 and 65 are fully withdrawn, blade 73 is pivoted about its axis 75toward the head end of the machine while arm 74 acts as folding patternedge. Subsequently, both the blade 73 and the arm 74 are rotated with asupport arm 76 therefore, about a pivot extending transversely of themachine substantially cent-rally of the fold-up arm drive mounting 77described in detail hereinbelow.

When the mechanism is moved through the positions described immediatelyabove, the shirt is fully folded. However, blade 73 and arm 74 are stillwithin the folds. Before their removal, it is necessary to hold theshirt in a folded condition until it can be banded or pinned. This isaccomplished by actuation of a valve limit switch by the tail fold-upmechanism 72. Such activation causes cylinder-piston assembly 350 to actupon a gear traincrank mechanism to lower the tail clamping arm assembly357 onto the back of the upper collar end of the folded shirt. Thenblade 73 `and :arm 74 are removed by a sidewise (to the right inFIGURE 1) movement of tail fold-up mechanism 72. Arm 76 then pivots backto the position shown in FIGURE l, and blade 73 pivots to its normalunactuated position. If desired, the shirt may then be pinned or bandedto retain its folded condition. This ends the automatic folding cycle.

After pinning or banding the shirt, the foot pedal 16 is depressed tocontract the collar mold and to operate the cylinder-piston assembly 48.Operation of the assembly 48 raises the shoulder folding arms 49, 50, 57and 58 to an upstanding position. The operator may then bag the shirtand remove it by an outward sliding movement from the shoulder foldingarms 49 and 50 and outer folding arms 57 and 58.

Upon release of the foot pedal 16 after banding and removal of theshirt, the machine automatically begins to unfold. The shoulder foldingarms rst lower by their own weight as the pneumatic pressure in cylinder48 diminishes and then the tail clamp 357, which holds the shirt folded,raises. The tail clamping and lower side folding assembly then moves inand opens substantially simultaneously with the shoulder folding arms.The right side unfolds about axes 69, 70 and 71. The left side unfoldslabout axes 66, 67 and 68. Thereafter,

but before the tail clamping arms are unfolded about pivot axis 63, the-arms 58 and 57 open successively.

Obviously, the unfolding movement of the fold-up mechanism and the tailclamping and side folding mechianism, and the upward movement of theinner arms, may be effected by activation of a return cycle button, ifdesired, at the conclusion of the fold-up operation.

The mechanism for eifecting the numerous foregoing automatic operationsis schematically illustrated in FIG. URE 3, wherein it is shown that thecoordinating system for the mechanism is operated and controlled from amain drive shaft 79 to which there are secured a plurality of rotatingcam wheels 80, 81 and 82 which control the operation of the arm andshoulder folding arms, the tail clamping mechanism land the side foldingmechanism, respectively.

The main drive shaft 79 is directionally rotated by a double main drivecylinder and piston assembly 83 which rotates shaft 79 by the action ofan integral rack 84 on the piston with :a lpinion 85 on the shaft (seeFIGURE 2). A speed regulator 83A controls the rate of rotationalmovement of shaft 79.

Cam followers -operatively engaged with the rotating cam wheels 80, 81and 82 operate the various clamping and folding mechanisms describedbriefly above and in detail hereinafter (see FIGURES 2, 3, 4 and 15).

The arm and shoulder folding mechanism The mechanism constituting thearm and shoulder folding mechanism is illustrated in detail in FIGURES4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10. With particular reference to FIGURE 4, the doublemain drive cylinder 83 with the piston rack 84 thereon is shown engagedwith the pinion 85. Taken in conjunction with lFIGURE 5, these figuresshow that the main drive shaft 79 is journaled at the head end of themachine in a bearing 86 mounted on a frame plate 87 of the framestructure. The cam wheel 80 for operating the arm and shoulder clampingand folding arms is mounted on shaft 79 and is engaged by a plurality ofcam followers 88, 89, 90, 91 and 92 which are, respectively, mounted atthe ends of cranks 93, 94, 95, 96 and 97 which are center pivoted in aiixedly mounted frame plate 98. The cranks are pivotally mounted forpivotal movement of the ends of the arms thereof as the followers followthe contour of the convoluted cam groove 99 in the cam wheel 80.

Cam groove 99 is contoured with a single rise 100 therein which, duringrotation of the cam, reaches the followers 92 and 88 through 91,successively, during yclosing operation or folding operation of themechanism. During the unfolding operation, the cam followers are reachedand held by the rise 100 in inverse order.

The first follower to be engaged by the rise 100 is the follower 92 onthe crank 97. The end of the other arm of this crank is pivotallyconnected to a connecting rod which operates to lift the arm mechanismat the head end of the machine -to a raised position as shown in FIG-URE 9 in substantially the same manner as the cylinder 48 is eifectiveto raise the mechanism. The structure by which the raising of the armmechanism is accomplished is speciiically shown in FIGURES 5 and 9wherein it is seen that the connecting rod 120 is pivotally connected toa crank 121 that is center pivoted on ear 122 extending out from 'thehead end of the frame. The other arm of the crank 121 is pivotallyconnected at 123 to a link 124 which ties the same to a pivoted liftinglever 125 which is substantially the same as the lifting lever S5 whichis linked to the cylinder 48 for a lifting of the head-end aI'IIlS.

rod 101 to a rack 102 which is intermeshed with a pinion or gear 103 andheld in position by a backing roller 104. The gear 103 is mounted on ashaft 105 which, when rotated, operates to pivot the outer sleevefolding arm 57 at the left side of the machine (see FIGURE 1) into afolded position (see also FIGURES 4 and 7).

After the cam follower 88 for the left side folding arm is engaged bythe rise 100 of the cam groove 99, it passes into an elongated dwellportion 100a which is substantially circular and concentric about thecenter of the main drive shaft 79. The dwell 100a holds the follower S8in a fixed position where-by the arm 57 is held in folded positionduring the remainder of the operating cycle of the mechanism.

The next follower to be engaged is the follower 89 on the crank 94. Theother arm of this crank is pivotally connected to a connecting rod 106which, at its other end, carries a rack 106 which is intermeshed with apinion 107 and held in such intermeshing engagement `by a backing roller108. As the rise 100 passes the follower 89, the rack 106 is drivenoutwardly of the machine thereby rotating the pinion 107 on the shaft109 on which it is secured, in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE4 to rotate the outer folding arm 58 inwardly of the machine,successively after inward pivotal movement of the left side folding arm57.

The fourth follower to be engaged by the rise is the follower 90 on thecrank 95. The other arm of this crank is connected to a connecting rod110 carrying a rack 111 at its free end, the rack 111 being engaged witha pinion 112 and held so engaged by a back-up roller 113. The pinion 112is fixed on a shaft 114 which is effective to rotate the left side innershoulder folding arm 49.

The fifth follower to be engaged by the rise 100 of the cam groove 99 isthe follower 91 on the crank 96. The other arm of this crank isconnected to a connecting rod 115 which carries a rack 116 disposed inengagement with a pinion 117 and held in position by a back-up roller118. The Pinion 117 is fixed on a shaft 119 which is connected to theright side inner shoulder folding arrn 50 for rotation thereof when therise 100 reaches the follower 91.

Each of the four head-end folding arms 57, 49, 50 and 58 are mounted onuniversal joint structures 126, 127, 128 and 129, respectively, as shownin FIGURES 7 and S.

The left side folding arm 57 includes a garment holding blade 130 whichis pivotally mounted on a pin 131 (see FIGURES 1 and 7) journaled in apair of supports 132. It is spring-biased in a counterclockwisedirection, as viewed in FIGURE 7, Iby a spring 133 (shown in FIGURE 1).Thus it is normally biased toward the table, and against any garmentthat may -be disposed between it and arm 49, when the blade is moved toa folded position. The supports 132 are secured on a rod 134 which isconnected at its head-end to an arm lever 135, the other end of which ismounted on the universal joint 126 for controlled movement of the armmechanism 57. The construction of the universal joint 126 is explainedbelow in conjunction with the description of the universal joints 127,128 and 129, as shown in FIGURE 8. By this construction, however, whenthe arm lever 135 is moved clockwise, as viewed in FIGURE 7, during thefirst stage of the folding operation, the blade 130 on the pin 131 willraise the left side sleeve of the shirt and hold the same against theback of the shirt while folding the same tautly about the left sideinner folding arm 49.

The left side inner folding arm 49 is constituted by a shirt contactingarm or blade 136 mounted on an arm lever 137 which is secured to an armcarrying rod 138 which forms the pivot axis for the arm and which issecured in a universal mounting joint 127 therefor.

The right side inner folding arm 50 is symmetrical with the left Sideinner folding arm 49 and, similarly, is constituted by a shirtcontacting arm or blade 139 secured to an arm lever 140 mounted on andsecured to an arm pivot rod 141 which is secured in the universal joint128 for that arm.

The inner folding arm pivot rods 138 and 141 also carry and are tiedtogether by a cross bar 142 against which the arm lifting levers and/ or55 may operate for lifting the arms as discussed above in conjunctionwith FIGURE 9. The cross bar 142 also extends to the left side of themachine and the leftmost extremity, which is extended beyond theleftmost extremity of .the arm 57, carries a sleeve restraining arm 143which overlies and prevents the sleeve of the shirt from sliding off ofthe arm 57 until it is substantially folded about the inner folding arm49 so that a taut fold may be obtained. Without the arm 143, a stiff,well-starched sleeve might tend to move ahead of the folding arm 57 oncethe folding operation is started and thereby create a loose fold.

The outer right side folding arm is, in part, similar to the left sideouter folding arm in that it includes a blade 144 (see FIGURE 8) mountedon a pin `145 which is carried in a pair of arm journal supports 146 insuch a manner that a spring 147 on the pin 145 and between the supports146 biases the blade 144 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURES7 and 8, to maintain the same against the table and any garment thereon.The supports 146 are secured to a carrying rod 148 which is mounted inan arm lever 149. The ar-m lever 149, in turn, is fixed on a pivot rod150 which forms a part of the universal joint 129.

The arm lever 149 has a channel-shaped bottom portion 151 which slidablycarries a rack 152 that engages a pinion 153 secured to a supplementalarm rod 154 journaled in the arm lever 149 and in one of the supports146 for .the arm pin 145. A supplemental sleeve folding arm 155 issecured to a lever 156 which, in turn, is secured to the arm rod 154.

At the end removed from the rack 152, the arm lever carries a camfollower 157 which is received in a cam slot 158 in a bracket and camblock 159 which is secured to the main mounting block 160 forming a partof the universal joint 129 and mounted on the main frame of the machine.

The cam groove 158 is eccentric with respect to the horizontal axis ofthe pivot rod 150 so that as the arm lever 149 is moved in acounterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE 8, the cam follower 157sliding in the cam groove 158 will cause the rack 152 to move outwardlywith respect to the lever 149 thereby causing the pinion 153 to rotatein a counterclockwise direction at a rate greater than thecounterclockwise rotation of the lever 149. This movement causes thesupplemental arm 155 to be carried to a position extending further tothe left than the position of the pin 145 for the arm blade 144 when thearm mechanism 58 is in a folded or closed position. The length of thear-m 156 is preferably selected such that the supplemental arm 155 willlie in a fold brake position to hold the shirt when the left side innerfolding arm 136 is moved to a folded position for folding of a garmentabout the supplemental arm 155 during the left side folding operation.

. The universal joint mountings for the arms 57, 49, 50 and 58,respectively, starting at the left side of the folding table, are shownin FIGURES 7, 8 and 9. Each of these universal joints 126, 127, 128 and129 has a fixed bearing block 161, 162, 163 and 160, which are mountedon the frame, and more particularly on a back plate 164 of the frame.Journale-d within these bearing blocks are a set of bifurcatedsubstantially cylindrical joint blocks 16S, 166, 167 and 168,respectively. Received between the arms of the joint blocks to formknuckle joints therewith are a set of disk-shaped or substantiallycylindricalshaped pivot blocks 169, 170, 171 and 172 each of which isdisposed on a pivot or knuckle pin 173, 174, 175 and 176, respectively,extending axially thereof and received in aperture-s in the arms of theblocks -168. These pivot members 169-172, respectively, carry the pivotrods

1. A FOLDING DEVICE FOR PLANAR FLEXIBLE MATERIAL COMPRISING A FRAME WITHA TOP WORKING SURFACE, MEANS FOR CLAMPING ONE PORTION OF SAID MATERIALTO SAID TOP WOKING SURFACE, A SERIED OF FOLEING ARMS PIVOTALLY CONNECTEDTO SAID TOP WORKING SURFACE, SAID FOLDING ARM BEING OPERATIVESUCCESSIVELY IN PREDETERMINED FASHION TO FOLD PORTIONS OF SAID MATERIALINWARDLY ONE OTHER PORTIONS OF THE MATERIAL AND MEANS TO SUCCESSIVELYOPERATE SAID ARMS TO FOLD SAID MATERIAL SAID LAST MENTION MEANSCOMPRISING A CAM WHEEL AFFIXED TO A COMMON POWERED AXLE EXTENDINGLONGUTUDINALLY WITH SAID FRAME, A SERIES OF CAM FOLLOWER ACTUATED BYSAID CAM WHEEL AND OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO PIVOT MECHANISM FORINDIVIDUALLY PIVOTING THE FOLDING ARMS, AND SAID CAM WHEEL ACTUATING APLURALITY OF CAM FOLLOWERS EACH OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO A CRANK, ANDEACH CRANK OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO A RACK-PINION MECHANISM, THE PINIONOF EACH SAID MECHANISM OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO MEANS FOR PIVOTABLEMOVEMENT OF A FOLDING ARM.